Texas chief justice calls for bail reform, end to partisan election of judges

Chuck Lindell @chucklindell

Wednesday

Feb 6, 2019 at 2:24 PMFeb 6, 2019 at 4:00 PM

Speaking to a joint session of the Legislature, the head of the Texas Supreme Court called Wednesday for far-reaching changes to a bail system that too often keeps poor people in jail while well-off but dangerous suspects go free.

Chief Justice Nathan Hecht also used his State of the Judiciary address to call for an end to electing judges in partisan races, saying the judiciary should be protected from fast-changing political winds, and he requested more money for legal aid programs serving veterans and sexual assault survivors.

Hecht has called for bail reform in the past, but on Wednesday he had specific legislation to support — identical House and Senate bills named the Damon Allen Act to honor the state trooper who was shot to death during a Thanksgiving Day 2017 traffic stop. The shooter, Hecht said, was free after paying $1,550 in bail for charges of injuring a deputy by ramming his vehicle during a high-speed chase.

"The judge setting bail had no way of knowing that he had previously been convicted of assault for violently beating a deputy sheriff," Hecht said.

With Allen's family in the audience, Hecht said Senate Bill 628 and House Bill 1323 would require judges to receive information about a defendant's criminal history, including assault and family violence, before setting bail, Hecht said.

But it also is important, he said, to help the majority of nonviolent jail occupants who are imprisoned while awaiting trial because they can't afford bail.

"Though presumed innocent and no risk to public safety, they remain in jail, losing jobs and families, and emerge more likely to offend," Hecht said.

It is no longer acceptable to set bail on a predetermined schedule based on the seriousness of the criminal charges, he said, calling for more widespread use of "validated risk assessment" computer programs that can predict whether a defendant poses a risk of flight, violence or recidivism with relative accuracy.

Hecht, a Republican, also called for an end to requiring Texas judges at every level to seek office as a member of a political party.

"Partisan election is among the very worst methods for judicial selection," he said. "Knowing almost nothing about judicial candidates, (voters) end up throwing out very good judges who happen to be on the wrong side of races higher on the ballot."

After the 2018 election, Hecht said, 35 percent of intermediate appellate judges and one-fourth of trial judges are new to the bench. While Republican judges bore the brunt of the defeats last November, Democrats suffered similar swings in prior elections, he said.

Hecht called for merit selection of judges — a process that typically involves a politically balanced or neutral board — followed by retention elections allowing voters to decide if the judges should remain on the job.

Hecht has made a similar plea for scrapping judicial elections in years past, as have previous chief justices of the Supreme Court, but lawmakers have had no appetite for the change.

Acknowledging the difficulties, Hecht urged lawmakers "at a minimum" to favor legislation to raise the qualifications for holding judicial office, such as SB 561, which would raise the minimum age for county Court-at-Law judges from 25 to 30 and require municipal judges to have at least eight years of legal experience, up from two years.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.